Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, not me.
Author/Note 1: This story is the sequel to Our Dawn 5. For the ones who don't know anything about Our Dawn Series, you can always read Our Dawn 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and Our Dawn Series Specials but if you don't want to bother I have a resume on my profile page. As it would be expected this is a next generation story and as such, it's focused on Jake and Leah's children.
A/Note 2: A huge thank you to everyone who reviewed Our Dawn Series so far.
A/Note 3: I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading.
Alpha
Book II – The Protector
Interlude
Sarah Black
73. Wake Me Up - part 1
At first, I felt weird. It was like those days when you know that you're going to have a horrible day and you can't do anything to change it. Like when you've studied so hard for that test and still had a bad grade or when you put on a clean pair of jeans and then you accidentally spill juice all over you.
Like when you really want to see that movie but you don't have any money left or when you and your friends have decided to have a swim and you get your period that very same day.
Like when your boyfriend turns into a wolf and imprints on your cousin, who just happens to be super pretty and damn perfect.
But at that moment I didn't feel that I was going to have a bad day, I felt like something bad was going to happen. I felt on edge. Anxious. Worried. Fearful. All of that at once.
I couldn't think straight or pay attention to what was happening around me. All I knew was that something was terribly wrong.
I only realized what it was when the dogs started to bark. Facing north, the three German Shepherds ran out of the door to the backyard and started growling and barking non-stop. The cold breeze brought the confirmation I needed. The scent hit me like a grenade exploding in my face and I cringed.
My brother Isaac had once told me that the stench of a vampire is something you never forget. It was sweet to the point of causing you nausea, but at the same time, it smelled like rotten things. He was absolutely right.
So I knew they were coming. And I knew it wasn't any of the Cullens because they would never come here unannounced. These vampires were coming for a reason and I knew she was just standing beside me watching her siblings happily playing together in the living room.
With Harry gone for the day, we were vulnerable. He had told us that a trip to La Push in wolf form would take him at least three hours, two if he ran full speed. He'd been gone for two hours and twelve minutes now.
Even if we could contact him, he would take another two hours to get back. We were on our own.
"What's going on with the dogs?" Asked Norah approaching the window to look outside. The little girl was completely oblivious to the fact that we were all in great danger.
"Listen to me Season." I turned to my sister-in-law. "Did my brother have a backup plan? An escape plan? Anything?"
"What?" Season watched me with a confused look on her face.
"I don't know how or why, but I can feel that there are vamps coming here." I lowered my voice. "They're pretty close now."
"Oh my God! Are you serious?" I read the panic in Season's eyes and I swear I felt her heartbeat accelerate. "Yes, he had a plan but... I never thought I'd have to use it." She said nervously. "Should we use the car?"
Although the car sounded like our best option right now, I knew these vampires were not going to leave empty-handed. They would definitely pursue us through the urban area. The risk of collateral damage was too high.
"They'll catch us before we leave the neighborhood, and they might kill innocent people."
"But we have to take Norah and Ryan out of here." She muttered.
"Okay. You need to calm down and remember everything Harry told you because if you don't, we'll be in deep shit."
Season nodded.
"We need to go to the backyard and call the dogs." She said after a minute.
Sasha, Duke, and Zane ran towards us when we exited the house. Season led us to the lake. I noticed there was a trapdoor on the ground near the stone structure that surrounded the lake. The grass was covering it almost completely. Under the trapdoor, there were stairs leading down to an iron door.
"A bunker." I realized.
Could a bunker save our lives? I knew vampires were excellent trackers. They could hear and feel a beating heart probably for miles. Besides a bunker would not mask our scents. They were hunters searching for human preys, so they would find us eventually even if we were hiding behind that iron door.
"It's not a bunker. It's a refrigerating room. It used to be a cellar for the wine."
I understood now. Inside an extremely cold room, a human heartbeat decreases almost to the point of being just a light drumming sound that could be confused with an animal's heartbeat. The problem was that the door could only be open from the outside and the people hiding could die if they stayed there for too long. Hypothermia is a silent killer, so one of us would have to stay out of that place.
Everything would be much easier if I could phase. I thought almost angrily. I was frustrated because I couldn't understand why I hadn't phased yet. If I really carried the wolf gene like my brothers and cousins, shouldn't I have phased already?
We were in imminent danger of being taken or killed by vampires and vampires were the mortal enemies of wolves.
I'm not a wolf. A little voice in the back of my head reminded me. At least not yet. But I have to do whatever it takes to save these people.
"Was there anything else my brother told you about?" I asked focusing again on finding a way to save our lives.
"I don't know. I think he told me something about the basement too."
Season was scared. And she had every reason to be scared but if she gave in to the panic, we wouldn't make it.
"Okay." I held Season's hands in mine. "Tell me everything you remember about the basement," I asked her in a calming voice. I wanted her to feel calm otherwise she wouldn't remember anything useful.
Season never opened her mouth to speak yet I could read everything in her mind. Small fragments of memory appeared in my head as we held hands. Things were going too fast at first but then everything slowed down and I could hear my brother's voice clearly.
"There's a basement in the house. There's a back door in the kitchen that leads to a pantry. In the pantry, there's a staircase down to the basement. There you'll find two refrigerating containers. They have animal blood inside. You need to go there and press the defrost button. It will only take a minute. The blood will overpower the scent of any hiding person inside the cellar under the lake where you'll be with Sasha, Duke, and Zane. I'll arrive with the other wolves and the Cullens as soon as possible."
I heard my brother's words as if he was standing right there before me. When I finally let Season go, I knew exactly what I had to do.
My brother's plan was good but it had flaws. There were more people in that house than just Season to be saved. And we couldn't wait for him to arrive with backups. Time was of the essence and even if he could reach us in two hours, it would be too late.
"Ryan, Norah!" I called the children. "Get inside, now!"
"Why?" Ryan asked. Both kids were surprised with my commanding tone.
"We're going to play a game." Season told her brother. "Come on, it's going to be fun."
Ryan and Norah obeyed. The three German Shepherds went inside the refrigerating room too.
"I'm going to find Mr. Pratt and then I'm going to the basement. If I'm not back in two minutes, get inside and close the door. Do you understand?"
"I'll go with you." Season offered.
"We have three minutes, top. They're after you, Season. You need to stay here."
"Sarah! Please... stay with us." She begged. "What will I tell Harry if something happens to you? You're too young!"
I rolled my eyes. Apparently, my age was always an issue.
"My mother and father are both wolves. There's a very good chance that I'll be one too." I tried to smile. "And you're Harry's wife, so just stay here."
I closed the trapdoor and ran back to the house taking Season's cell phone with me. My phone was charging in the living room. I disconnected it and dialed the only number I knew by heart. For a moment I thought that he was going to pick up the call but he didn't. Jay was probably busy training, patrolling La Push's lands, or even working.
Or maybe he's with his imprint. A small and jealous voice in the back of my head said. I shook it off. I needed to focus if I wanted to survive.
The vampires were getting closer. All of the fibers in my body were on red alert.
Why couldn't I phase? All wolves phased when danger was near. Why couldn't I do it, too? What was wrong with me?
The call went straight to voicemail so I left a message. A short one, but he would understand and alert the others.
I didn't have much time left. I still had to find Mr. Pratt and go to the basement. I destroyed my cell phone as well as Season's. Then I went to the bedroom she shared with my brother and took her wallet. On my way to the kitchen, I threw both our identification cards into the fireplace.
There was only one way to keep myself alive: I had to convince the vampires who were coming that I was Season Marsh. However, my plan would only work if the vampires didn't know Season's appearance. That's why I had destroyed our phones and identification documents.
Feeling my way through the darkness of the basement, I pressed the defrost button following my brother's instructions and left almost immediately. I tried to find the caretaker but he seemed to have disappeared.
Maybe he went shopping. I tried to find some comfort knowing that if Mr. Pratt wasn't in the house, at least one life would be spared. I was returning to the kitchen when I felt them entering the house through the front door.
This was it. I couldn't hide now. Nor escape. I was trapped. It was impossible to describe what I felt when I finally saw them.
Just like the Cullens, their skin was as white as marble and they were nicely dressed. One of them whistled in amazement when he saw all the rich things inside Edward Cullen's house.
"What a fancy house." He said looking around the kitchen. The other two vampires had their eyes set on me.
I was speechless, scared, tense, and had my stomach in knots. Suddenly I felt sick. Cold shivers assaulted my body followed by an intense wave of heat. I thought that maybe I was finally going to phase but almost a minute passed and nothing happened.
"Look who we have here." One of the vampires said. He had blonde short hair and thin lips. His ears were pierced as well as his nose. "It's the dog's little bitch."
I took a few steps back and hit the kitchen's counter. Vampires were beautiful yet dangerous creatures. I had heard a few stories about the Cold Ones. They were also pretty much indestructible so it would be useless to run for a knife or a gun.
"She's young and beautiful just like I like them!" A second and equally blonde vampire said. His long hair was caught in a ponytail.
"Leave her alone." The last vampire said. He was not like the others. His hair was brown and he spoke English perfectly.
He walked forward and made a bow. It looked like he was the leader of the group as the other two kept their distance.
"I apologize for my friends. They have no manners. I'm Yordan Finn and these are Berg and Sven. We are here to escort you to Vlad and Stefan. We would appreciate you would come with us peacefully."
They don't know how Season looks like. I can still save her. I thought.
"I'm not going anywhere with you." I found the courage to speak but I regretted it immediately because the scent of the blood in the basement mixed with the scent of the vampires was horrible. It almost made me throw up.
"What's this smell?" The vampire named Sven asked noticing the intense smell of blood. "Is it blood?"
I wondered if Season had followed my instructions and joined her siblings inside the refrigerating room. I hoped so otherwise, I was risking my life for nothing.
"You're trying to buy some time, aren't you, little girl?" Sven laughed. "Your boyfriend isn't here." He walked into the pantry and then disappeared through the basement stairs. He reemerged a few seconds later with a grin. "Animal blood." He laughed. "It was a nice move. What was your plan? Run and hide?" He asked scornfully and sucked his blood-covered fingers making my blood boil in anger.
"Animal blood could act as a diversion if we were bloodthirsty but we fed this morning," Yordan informed.
"And you reek of dog so we would find you easily." The other blonde vampire said.
I recalled Dana's words weeks ago. She had said that I should be close to vampires so I could turn into a wolf. And she said that soon I would phase. So it was probably just a matter of time. Once I phased I was going to rip them apart.
"We don't want to hurt you. We have orders to keep you alive and well until we reach our final destination." Yordan announced.
"And where is that?"
"I can't tell you. But it will be a nice place. I promise."
"Let's go!" Berg pressed. "I need food."
"Goddammit, Berg! We fed this morning!" Sven rolled his eyes.
"But I'm hungry..." He whined.
"You sound like a little girl, moron!" Sven laughed at his friend who pouted. "Come on, let's take the girl and leave."
"Come with us quietly and nothing bad will happen." Yordan grabbed my arm and pulled me with him. "Berg! Go get her a jacket, the night will be cold and we need her healthy."
Just as Berg was going up the stairs, Season walked inside the house. She was trembling but showed a fierce expression when she spoke.
"Let her go. She's not who you want. I am."
xxxxxxxxxx
"Sarah, please don't be dead, please... Sarah? Sarah?"
I could hear a distant voice calling my name. Was it my mother? It didn't sound like her though. Was it Grandma Sue? But why did she sound so concerned?
"Please, wake up. I need you to wake up!"
"I don't want to wake up," I mumbled. I ignored the pushes and turned to the other side. "Leave me alone." That's when I felt it. The cold and hard surface I was lying on. I didn't remember falling asleep on the floor.
Opening my eyes I saw Season and then it all came back to me like a monsoon. My plan to keep my sister-in-law safe had failed the moment she had decided to come looking for me. Her sudden appearance put the three vampires on edge.
To protect Season, I had insisted that I was the girl they wanted but Yordan and the others weren't so sure of which one of us was the real Season Marsh. When they realized there were no documents at the house or even cell phones to confirm our identities, they decided to take both of us hostages. It was, of course, the only option they had. And I was counting with that.
I tried to fight back when they pushed Season against the wall and then one of the vampires hit me with something sharp.
"Are you okay?" Season asked me with a worried expression. "I was so scared that they had killed you!"
"I'm fine." I lied. My forehead was pounding and I had dry blood all over my face and neck.
"They hit you pretty hard." Season whined. "I'm sorry! This is all my fault!"
I wanted to tell her that she was right. If she had followed my plan and locked herself with her siblings inside the room under the lake, we wouldn't be in this situation. But I held my tongue. Arguing with Season now was useless.
"I'm okay." I sat up and inspected the surroundings. A dark room, how original. I thought to myself. "Did they hurt you?"
"No. I think they drugged me or something. I woke up just a few minutes ago."
"Do you know where we are?"
"The basement?" Season suggested.
Not the basement of Edward Cullen's mansion. That much I knew. This basement's floor wasn't covered in blood and it smelled differently.
If we weren't in Edward's mansion anymore, I wondered where the vamps had taken us. It was obvious that we were captive there. The small and dark room reeked of sewers and rotten fruit. There was a heavy door and also two small windows with metal bars.
We couldn't escape.
"How long were we out?" I asked. It was a metaphorical question but I still spoke out loud.
"I have no idea."
How far could we be from Chicago? That was the main question.
"And the vamps?"
"They weren't here when I woke up and I can't hear anyone outside."
I couldn't hear anyone outside either but that didn't mean the vampires weren't around. I got up and dragged a chest made of wood until it was placed under one of the barred windows. Even standing on the top of the wooden chest I could hardly look through the window. I grabbed the metal bars and pulled my body up. I was on the tip of my toes and that's when I saw it.
"Can you see anything?" Season asked me.
"Yeah..." I replied completely stunned.
"What do you see?"
"The sunrise..."
Season remained in silence for a while. She was confused by my statement. Either we had slept a lot of hours or we weren't in the United States because it was about six o'clock in the afternoon when the vamps reached Edward's mansion and now the sun was up in the sky.
Where are we?
I looked at my left wrist. If we were in Chicago it should be around midnight. That's the time my watch marked. But the sun was already up.
"I need to know everything you recall about the time you and my brother were held hostages by the Romanian vampires," I told Season jumping from the chest.
"What?"
"I need to know names, places, things you saw, things you ate, you drank... everything! The more details you can remember, the better!"
"Why?"
"Because we need more time."
"Time for what?"
"For the pack to find us."
"I'm sure they're already coming for us. Harry said it would take him two hours from La Push to Chicago running full speed."
"We're not in Chicago anymore, Season. I believe that we're not even in the United States. We need time and most of all, I need you to start talking because if we want to stay alive, we'll have to convince the vamps that we're both Season Marsh." I told her. "Otherwise... one of us will definitely die."
A few hours later, the vampires finally came. They gave us food and water and left again without a word.
xxxxxxxxxx
Reims. France. Europe. I was out of words when I watched the sign in the small airport that confirmed our current location.
Now our chances of being rescued by dad and the others were as hard as finding a needle in a haystack. When I told Season we were probably out of the United States, I was actually thinking about Canada or, in a worse case scenario, South America, but Europe?
I should've suspected though. Our captors were European so it was kind of normal that they would bring us to Europe.
"The city of Reims is one of the most important regions of champagne production in France. Many of the largest champagne-producing houses have their headquarters here. We've always liked profitable businesses." Yordan said forcing us to enter a small aircraft. "Too bad you couldn't enjoy the landscape."
I couldn't care less about the damn landscape. I had to find a way to warn the pack we were in France.
"Where are your blonde friends?" I asked noticing that there was just the three of us.
"They went to solve something important."
"Problems, huh?"
Yordan looked intently at me. His red eyes were burning mine.
"There are no problems." He said but I could tell he was lying.
"Is that why you're risking exposure bringing us to an airport by daylight?"
"You're way too smart for own good, did you know that?" He smiled. "And this is not an airport, it's a touristic aerodrome that I rented for today, so there's nothing to worry about. No one will see us because no one is here."
"But your friend's are not with us." I insisted.
"Do you really want to know what's happening?"
I nodded. Yordan finished handcuffing Season in her seat and he pushed me down into mine. His scent was disgusting and I fought the urge to throw up.
"Your dog killed four of us." He started, kneeling in front of me. "Valerya and Serghei had mates who want revenge. So, apparently, Ivan and Katerina rebelled against Vlad's plan... they want to kill the dog but first, they want him to watch the person he loves die."
"It was self-defense." I cut him off.
"Even if that's true. It's an eye for an eye" Yordan grinned. His cold fingers were caressing my arm slowly. "My friends stayed behind to make sure Ivan and Kat don't find you before I can hand you over to the Elders. It's important that I finish this task which is a shame because I should help Kat. I owe her."
"Then why don't you?"
"Because... I don't want you to die." He grabbed my hands and kissed them. "I think I'm in love with you..." He smiled and I really hoped he was just joking. "Kat created me, you know? I'm immortal because she made me this way and I owe her everything. But for some reason that I can't explain, I can't hand you over to her to be killed." He was about to kiss my lips but I pulled away.
"I have a boyfriend."
"You're not that dog's girlfriend." Yordan laughed making sure my handcuffs were tight enough. "I'm not stupid, I know you're not the real Season Marsh. I know what you are. So, when we arrive at Val Rosandra and I deliver the real Season Marsh to Vlad, I'm going to ask him to keep you for myself."
"You knew all along?"
He nodded.
"If you knew why didn't you turn Season and left me behind? It would save you a lot of time."
"Only guards and elders can turn humans into vampires. I'm not allowed to do it... yet." He kissed my forehead and went to the pilot cabin. "But don't worry, Sarah I'll make sure you'll be my first."
Thanks for the reviews: Guest(s), CentaurPrincess, brankel1, MelkiSihou, Island Mama, Weave the Magic, Kary G, almondbutter, rocklesson86, TheSlytherinQueenbee, nikkieowens, nene82743, Deadman'sGun, bonzgirl, Jazzmatazz30, sia-gomo01, FangsandDaggers, Sagal Farah, chemistrykim, Daughter of the earth, Gizmo60, EvangellaAkriti, Sarah Blackwater, lory77, Beauty Eclipsed, tcpg02, Aiyanna Clearwater, Ebble, riskingit, Ella Tremaine, shadoxwolfpaw.
I'd also like to thank all the followers of this story and all the readers who added it to their favorites list. Thank you.
Guest - Obrigada pela review ao capítulo anterior. Sim, a Sarah encontra-se em perigo. Nem eu própria sei o que lhe irá acontecer nos próximos capítulos. ;)